Monday, April 20, 2009

So...at first glance, the "Word of the Week" last week did not go well. In fact, this week found me possibly more impatient and unwilling to WAIT than usual. Perhaps this is because Tax Day came and went (along with some money, I might add...). Or maybe it is because I spent the better part of another week WAITING to see what the future holds for me both vocationally and personally. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that all I really did last week was WAIT: for the weekend, for Jason to come home, for e-mails, for phone calls. Needless to say, I did not WAIT well. It was a somewhat frustrating week. I was terribly aware of the WAITING and not-so-good-at-it. I am not entirely proud of this fact.

All excuses aside for my attitude toward the many ways I am WAITING lately, I do think I learned a little something this week. I learned that I cannot WAIT alone. I need to let myself WAIT with God, with Jason, with family and friends. I need to wait forwardly and expectantly, trusting in God to guide and provide. Herein lies the problem, really. I try too hard to WAIT alone and I lack the necessary trust in God most of the time. I have these pockets of realization that I cannot go it alone and they are hopeful and freeing moments. I need to give in to them much more. This will make the WAITING - no matter how long - much less frustrating and much more life-giving.

You see, we are called to live while we WAIT. We are not just to sit idly by and WAIT for whatever is next. The Scriptures point to an active WAITING for God and, more specifically, WAITING for His return. We are to be watchful, alert, and decidedly not alone. In that beloved passage in Isaiah that is quoted and printed everywhere, the prophet says, "THEY that WAIT upon the Lord will renew THEIR strength..." (40:31). The Psalms encourage us to "wait in expectation" (3:3). Psalm 33 even encourages singing and making music to the Lord as we "wait in hope" for the Lord who is worthy of our trust (20).

I am determined to be better at this WAITING thing. If it is a theme of my life right now I had better make my peace with it. This brings me to the new word of the week. WITH. I think this little preposition is a powerful one. It came to me while I was reflecting on WAITING. There is no better way to WAIT than WITH: the Lord, my full-of-faith-and-trust husband, and the countless others God has graciously given me. I am excited about reflection on our new word of the week and maybe learning to WAIT better because of it!

{The picture above is from the Victory Gardens at Callaway Garden's in Pine Mountain, Georgia...just minutes from our home! I included it because it reminds me that while we must WAIT, there is beauty on the otherside of the WAITING. It also reminds me that it takes a lot of time and care for such a result.}

Monday, April 13, 2009

WAIT. The word of the week has been a theme in my life for the last few months. I seem to always be WAITING. I am well-versed in WAITING. Sometimes I have a fantastically optimistic view of it. Much more often than I'd like to admit, I have a less-than-stellar attitude about it. I know that God's timing is rarely ours and I can tell you with confidence that it is better. I can say that with ease on the other side of the WAITING. But when I am in it I often find myself discouraged, impatient, frustrated, and lonely. I am hoping that reflecting on the word ::WAIT:: will alter my perspective...and yours.

Friday, April 10, 2009

"We have all but eliminated the truth of God's holiness. God is, indeed, love; but intimate love is terrifying. The love that was revealed at Calvary is not a casual thing to be toyed with or presumed upon. Casual love would have smiled benignly at the evil...Holy love was grieved to the heart." - Dr. J. Ellsworth Kalas

"The entire plan for the future has its key in the resurrection." - Billy Graham

"And He departed from our sight that we might return to our heart, and there find Him. For He departed, and behold He is here." - St. Augustine

Monday, April 06, 2009

Given that it is Holy Week, I thought it appropriate for the word of the week to be HOLY. There is a lot to be said about that little word. It often brings to mind more negative thoughts than positive. We hear the word HOLY and think holier-than-thou and want no part of it. Or we hear that we are called to be HOLY and cower, feeling anything but. The word HOLY often either makes us want to run or makes us feel inferior. This should not be.

HOLY is what God is. It is also what we are when we connect ourselves to Him. It is not something we can attain on our own. Our attempts to be HOLY apart from God are what has made it a four-letter-word in the worst sense to us.

Let's contemplate the holiness of God in this the holiest of weeks. I believe that doing so will only help to make of us more HOLY creatures. Consider it an experiment in holiness.